Eagle of the Night
by Riptide2
Summary: With Persephone missing, Hades threatening war, and Zeus caught in the middle, a new quest begins. But can the demigods de-fuse this explosive situation or will it blow up in their faces? Sequel to The Fall of Time.
1. Frenemies

**Author's Note:** Hi, thanks for reading, just wanted to say that is the sequel to The Fall of Time so that story really should be read first, but you can probably guess and still understand this one. Thanks, Riptide2

Chapter 1: Frenemies

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

_I stood there shocked with Nico, Annabeth, and Thalia beside me as Hades pulled his sword._

"_No!" Nico screamed, but I held him back. This wasn't his fault, it was mine. I was leading the quest. I should have seen this coming. I should have known what Hades was planning. I should have realized that this was all part of a bigger plan. I should have guessed that we were all just pawns. I should have put the pieces together and figured out what the prophecy really meant._

_But I didn't and now it was too late._

"_I've put up with a lot from you and the others, but this... this is the __final__ insult!" Hades yelled._

_Zeus looked murderous, the air smelled of ozone, and outside a huge storm was brewing._

_Thunder shook the Olympians palace as Zeus declared in a deathly calm voice the end of our age._

"_Then let this be the declaration of war."_

_** _**Six Days Earlier **_**_

Back in my cabin, I strapped my armor on, grabbed Riptide, and headed for the amphitheater.

"We are so going to cream you, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth yelled before putting her Yankees cap on and vanishing.

"You wish."

"Athena always has a plan." Her voice came from somewhere in front of me now.

The other campers were already waiting, so I ran to the side entrance and grabbed my banner. It was blue with a gold trident in the center, below golden waves and a horse in the top corner.

A conch horn sounded and I ran in as Annabeth came from the other direction with the Athena banner, a gray silk with an owl over an olive tree.

The other campers cheered and rushed forward to grab weapons and armor.

"Blue Team forward," I yelled, jogging for the forest.

We split off as Annabeth led the red team. My team was Zeus, Hades, Hermes, Demeter, Nemesis, Hephaestus, and a few other minor cabins, while the reds were Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, and the rest of the major cabins and the minors.

Yes, I know it's kind of shocking that I wasn't on the same team as Annabeth but you can thank the Hermes cabin for that, yeah I guess they should have been at least a little serious with Connor missing and presumed dead but I guess they decided we needed some cheering up, so they got Annabeth and me on different teams and took bets on who won.

How they got us on different teams is a story all by itself.

_I was just coming back from a ride with Blackjack when Aaron, a Hermes kid, came up and started talking about the upcoming Capture-the-flag on Friday._

_I was going to meet with Annabeth to come up with a plan for creaming Ares, but the Hermes guy pulled me aside before I could leave._

_"You know what would be a good show?" He asked, but the glint in his eyes had me nervous._

_"No. What?" It's probably not a good idea to get on their bad side unless you want to find your sleeping bag full of shaving cream, or worse._

_"A Capture-the-flag with you against Athena," And speaking of a certain daughter of Athena if I stayed here any longer I'd be late._

_"Yeah, I guess, but listen I have to go."_

_"Ok, see you."_

_I nodded and headed for the beach to meet Annabeth but I couldn't help thinking that that would be a pretty interesting game._

_When I came over the dunes, Annabeth was walking in the surf, her hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing a white tee-shirt with yellow shorts, but I couldn't help thinking she looked gorgeous._

_I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist, "Hey Wise Girl." I whispered against her hair._

_"Long time no see, Seaweed Brain." She turned around smiling and we kissed quickly._

_"So, are you ready to cream Ares?" She asked smirking._

_"I've been thinking..."_

_"Well that's new." She cut in with a grin._

_I gave her a look and she wrapped her arms around me resting a finger over my Achilles Spot. My head snapped back like she'd slapped me, as a thousand volts arched through my body._

_"No fair!" I complained, spinning away and willing a wave to splash her._

_She ducked but it still soaked her shirt, "All's fair in love and war."_

_I grimaced, "Do we have to talk about war right now?"_

_"Sorry."_

_"So anyway, I was thinking about what would make a good Capture-the-flag game."_

_"Yeah what's that?" She asked smiling as we sat on the sand._

_"What if it was you against me?"_

_"Oh so really don't like our chances?" She yelled, jumping up._

_"No! Wait, that's not what I meant." Okay I know what you're thinking, definite Seaweed Brain moment there, but honestly I did not see that one coming._

_I found her later beating the life out of some giant scorpion that was stupid enough to cross her path. She was a force to be reckoned with when she was angry._

_I walked into the clearing just as it turned to dust and with as death glare at the poor monster's remains, she turned to me._

_Why did I have to catch up with her when she had a knife in hand?_

_Anyway she calmed down enough to talk without wanting to kill me, and I guess the same kid from Hermes had been talking with her too and said something about me not liking our chances against Ares._

_After we realized this was probably another prank from Jokesters Inc. and after agreeing to plot revenge later, we decided to go along with it._

_We made a big show of not talking to each other and I'd form an air bubble on the bottom of the canoe lake so we could plot in secret. Too bad I didn't know why we'd have to put our revenge on hold._

I snapped back to the present as a camper from Phobios came up to me, I think her name was Anastasia or something like that. She was the only one in her cabin and had sided with me because Clarisse had it out for her.

"So, what's the plan?" She asked. She didn't really have that many friends at Camp because she had a pretty imposing air, but I didn't really mind her. I kind of felt sorry for her, I knew what I was like to be singled out.

"You can take border patrol. Just stand by the creek and keep the reds away. I'll send you some back up once we set up the flag and guards."

She nodded, "Ok, any tips boss?"

"Yeah watch out for Annabeth, she always has a plan, and I don't think I have to tell you to stay away from Clarisse's spear, and don't call me 'boss'."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Just be careful, Ares might come after you."

"'K got it."

She dropped back as we marched through the edge of the forest, we had the front half and Annabeth was leading the reds to the other side of the creek.

We stopped at Zeus' Fist to give out assignments, "Here's the plan Hephaestus and Nemesis cabins are in charge of defense." There weren't many Hephaestus campers but they were experienced and the Nemesis cabin was huge, almost the size of Hermes, "Travis, you take Hermes and the rest of the major cabins directly at their flag. Thalia, Nico, and I will go in behind. Anastasia, you take the minor cabins and set up a front along the creek. You're going to have to keep out their first wave. Okay?"

They raised their weapons and gave a battle cry. I set the flag on top of Zeus' fist, while the guards formed a phalanx around it. Travis and his group headed out as Anastasia went to set up defense.

I ran over to Thalia and Nico, Nico in his all black with a hood over his head and Thalia in her usual ripped jeans, black leather jacket, and death-to-Barbie tee. (Yesterday it had been death-to-Beiber, so I guess it was an improvement.)

"Are we done, yet?" She asked impatiently.

"One minute," I stabbed Riptide into the ground and an earthquake ripped through it forming a chasm around Zeus' Fist with a mud wall up ten feet on the inside.

"There, that should keep them out." I pulled out Riptide and with a grin we disappeared into the underbrush, surrounded by the sound of fighting.


	2. Calling of Fate

**Author's Note:** Hi, I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who has added this story to their favorites or alerts and a special thanks to TPHA for reviewing. Thanks, Riptide2

Chapter 2: Calling of Fate

_"Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing." - Optimus Prime, Revenge of the Fallen._

"Ready?"

Thalia nodded and I looked over at Nico, but he was already gone, moving through the trees in a cloak of shadows.

We were hiding behind the bushes about twenty feet from the first line of Annabeth's defense. Her flag was sitting in the open but heavily guarded, about three quarters of her team was standing around it looking bored.

Thalia was going around behind after the flag, while Nico and some "friends" of his were the distraction. I was going to be his back up and make sure no one went after Thalia if they noticed her.

Riptide appeared in my hand as Thalia summoned her bow and headed off to my left. Nico melted out of the shadows thirty feet down to my right, surrounded by five civil war skeletons. They clashed with the red teams guards as Thalia ran in from behind.

I was about to join them, when I caught a glimpse of movement behind me. I spun around and came face to face with the Fates.

Three ghoulish grandmothers in black dresses with paisley handbags were standing in the middle of the forest looking horribly out of place. I'd seen them three times before now and every time someone died. The first time they'd cut a life string I'd thought was mine but was really Luke's, the second time they'd come to collect his body after he killed himself to save us, and just recently they'd appeared in a dream and prophesied my own death at Annabeth's hands.

I took a shaky breath, "What do you want with me now?" The middle one moved a step closer and raised her hand, "Why can't you leave me alone?"

"Percy, where are you?" I heard Thalia yell over the sounds of fighting.

I was distracted for just a second and the middle Fate touched her long bony hand to my forehead before I could react.

_I was standing beside the hearth fire on Mount Olympus, Hestia was sitting on the edge of the brazier wearing her usual brown robes, her form flickered looking more like an Iris message then really her, and the fire was barely smoldering._

_"Watch." she said gesturing to the rising smoke, before she flickered again and disappeared._

_The smoke billowed high and I saw a new, empty world ruled by the earth and sky, Ouranos and Gaia. Then it jumped forward to a time of men living in caves and dinosaurs. A man with golden eyes, dark hair, and a cruel, scared face sat on a gold throne in a palace of black marble. Beside him stood a woman in a dark blue robe, it was tied off at the waist with a black cord. She wore lace up sandals and a gold medallion, her hair was a reddish brown, almost the color of fire, and her bright blue eyes stood out against her darker skin tone. Kronos and Rhea, I realized._

_They were talking in a language I couldn't understand, until Kronos tensed. There was a blinding flash of light and Rhea screamed as the palace exploded._

_I saw an age's long war-the first Titan war- end and Zeus take the throne of a newly completed Olympus._

_Hestia appeared beside me, but if I focused on something behind her, she was transparent, like the after images of looking at the sun. "The fifth age has existed for a long time and for that entire time the gods have been ruled by Zeus. It has been like this for so long that change now would disrupt our entire order."_

_The smoke billowed again and now I watched an eagle and a huge, black raven fighting over central park with the Empire State building in the back ground. The sky was flashing with lightning, but below people went about their business as if nothing was wrong._

_The eagle swooped but the raven dodged to the left and lashed out with its beak, hitting the eagle square on the head. It screamed and a drop of blood, golden blood, fell from the wound, before it plummeted from the sky and hit the grass, where it lay still._

_"What does this mean?" I asked, but Hestia was gone._

_"We came to warn you." I whirled around to see the three Fates standing at the base of Zeus' throne. They hadn't spoken though instead I heard their dry, rattling voice in my mind, the same way I spoke with horses._

_"Warn me of what?"_

_I spun around again as the huge, ornate doors swung open by themselves, and Rachel walked in. Her red hair was tied back and she wore her usual paint covered cut-off jeans, flip flops, and Urban Art tee, but her eyes were glowing green and she was surrounded by mist._

_When she spoke it was the voice of the Oracle, "That what you saw can never happen."_


	3. The Frailty of Genius

**Author's Note:** First off I'm really sorry for not updating sooner, but I've changed the plot for this story a bit and I really think it'll be better with the new twist. Second, I'd like to thank xXxrouxXx and ty for their reviews. Thanks, Riptide2

Chapter 3: The Frailty of Genius

_"That's the frailty of genius, it needs an audience." - Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Pink._

"Hey, Annabeth, over here," I heard a distant voice yell, then the sound of running footsteps.

"Percy, can you hear me?" Annabeth's voice was a little closer, but I still couldn't quite place it.

There were more footsteps and a metallic clank before Travis' voice said, "Hey, I got it!"

What I'm guessing was a bucket of water got thrown in my face. "Travis!" Annabeth exclaimed, but the water cleared my head.

My eyes flashed open and I smirked at Travis, "Great plan, really."

He shrugged, "Hey, it was the only thing I had."

"And just why were you carrying a bucket of water when you were supposed to be going after the flag?" I asked.

He just smirked but anyone could guess it was their latest prank.

Annabeth mock punched me on the arm, "That was for scaring me."

"Sorry but it wasn't exactly my idea."

"What happened, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked holding her hand out.

"Um... guess I just blacked out." I lied, taking her hand.

"But..." I could tell she didn't believe me. I caught her eyes and a silent understanding passed between us. _Not now._

"So who won?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

Annabeth smirked, "We did."

There were a lot of sideways glances at me, but eventually the other campers bought the story. Even Chiron, but that took a little more work before he dropped it. He obviously knew I was hiding something. It's not easy to lie to a guy that's three thousand years old and seen it all.

I was standing outside Nico's cabin, in the dark the green fire billowing from the torches made it even creepier then when it was daylight out, even then though the shadows seemed to cling to the black marble walls in layers.

I was about to knock but voices on the other side stopped me. I wasn't usually an eavesdropper, but Nico had been acting really strange lately, muttering to himself and disappearing at odd times but every time I'd ask what was up he'd say it was nothing and make some lame excuse to get away from me.

"You can't be serious about this," Nico was saying.

"Of course I'm serious! I wouldn't challenge him unless I was sure I could win." The voice was familiar. I probably could have placed it if it wasn't so distorted from echoing through the marble walls.

"You can't start a civil war. It's crazy!" Nico argued.

"You're too close to them. You can't see the genius of my plan." The voice growled.

"It's not genius. It's madness! No one will benefit from this war." Nico exclaimed.

"I will benefit! But if you betray me again, I will see your soul in the Underworld for eternity. Do we have an understanding?"

Nico sighed, "I... I won't let you down."

The voice chuckled, "Good, now run along to your silly activities."

Inside I heard Nico sigh and something like a chair get dragged across the floor.

I waited a few minutes then knocked.

Nico gave me an annoyed look, "What is it, Percy?"

"Come on. Everyone else is waiting."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you there," I said leading him toward Cabin Three.

The lights were already on when we walked into my cabin, Thalia was sitting on Tyson's bunk yelling at Travis on the bunk above to get his feet out of her face, Clarisse and Malcolm were arguing on my bunk, and Annabeth was lying above them.

"This had better be good, Prissy. I have better things to do." Clarisse scowled.

"Percy." I corrected, rolling my eyes, as Malcolm muttered something the sounded like, "If you call beating up the younger campers 'Better things'."

"Whatever," She said to me while glaring at him.

"So, what's this about?" Nico asked, sitting on the desk by my window.

I leaned against the closed door as I told them what the Fates said. When I was done Annabeth shook her head, "Why would the Fates warn you?"

"I don't know, but they almost acted like they were warning me because they wanted me to stop-whatever it was I saw."

Thalia swatted Travis' foot away from her face, "But they're the Fates, they control the future. Why would they need you?"

I shrugged, "Maybe this is beyond their control?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes but Malcolm corrected me, "No, Percy, the Fates control every big decision in the future and if the eagle you saw really is Zeus, then this should be completely in their control."

"They usually only show up when you're - when someone's going to die." Nico said.

I tried to ignore the fact that he'd said _you_. I shook my head, "It didn't feel like a threat, more like a warning, like they really didn't want it to happen."

Annabeth frowned, "But if... No, it can't be."

I gave her a look, "What is it? You have a theory."

She shook her head, "No, I mean, it would be bad, really bad. Besides didn't they warn you before about - about Luke?" It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than us.

"Could this be what Rachel meant by the whole prophecy not being complete thing?" Travis asked hopefully.

I thought I knew why; if the prophecy wasn't complete and since Connor was part of the seven, there was a chance he was alright. Nico had said Connor was still alive, but we hadn't heard anything from him for almost a week, so Chiron was considering him missing, M.I.A.

"It could be, the prophecy said the world would fall and if the eagle you saw is Zeus..." Malcolm trailed off as Thalia glared at him.

"What about the raven? Who could that be?" I asked. "Maybe we could find him and stop him."

"None of the Titans are usually symbolized as a raven, but it could be any of several of the gods, Apollo for one, it could be Nyx, too. Her sacred bird is the hawk but I suppose a raven is close enough." Annabeth said, frowning.

"But starting a civil war among the gods? Who would challenge my father?" Thalia asked.

"Well if the vision is correct, only someone who could win." Malcolm said.

"That narrows it down to Poseidon, Hades, and maybe a few others, if they had help," Annabeth said.

"Hey!" I protested.

"Percy, we have to consider every possibility."

A conch horn sounded in the distance signaling curfew, before I could suggest we consider some other possibilities. The others filed out until it was just me and Annabeth, we kissed goodnight and she slipped out into the night.

I emptied my pockets, dumping stuff on the nightstand beside my bunk: a few dollars of mortal money, Riptide, some golden drachmas, and my apartment key.

I don't remember falling asleep but I remember the dream.

_I was standing on a second story balcony, overlooking Persephone's garden and the Asphodel fields. In the distance rose the gates of Erebus and I could hear the cries of tortured souls and see the smoke and glow from a thousand fires beyond Asphodel, where the Fields of Punishment spread in every direction. Farther down the corridor two thrones sat side by side, Hades' made of fused human bones and Persephone's shaped like a lily of black marble and gilded with gold._

_Hades' throne was empty and Persephone was standing by the railing. She was wearing a floral pattern dress and the flowers actually grew and bloomed. She had orchids weaved into her golden blonde hair. Hades appeared behind me in his usual black robes, woven from damned souls. I waited for him to notice me and go ballistic or try to kill me, again. But he walked right by me to stand at her side._

"_My Lord," She greeted him, but the goddess looked bored, she was twirling a daisy between her fingers, it bloomed in a rainbow of colors before withering and starting all over._

"_Nice day." he commented._

"_You're late, again."_

_He paled, "Forgive me. The traffic congestion is horrible!"_

_She sighed and turned to face him, "You were playing that stupid Z-box again, weren't you?"_

"_It's an X-box, my dove."_

"_Whichever!"_

_The sky over by the entrance to Tartarus was covered with inky, black clouds like a thunderstorm was brewing, but that wasn't right. I'd been in the Underworld and there were no clouds._

"_I swear this is worse than the time you got a hold of that..." She stomped a foot in frustration and a little patch of daisies grew from the wood, "Oh, what was it called- Playboy?"_

_Hades paled even more, "N-no my dear! I would never."_

_She ignored him, either not hearing or just not caring, "No, that's not it, Play-Stay? Is that it?"_

"_Um... it's called a PlayStation." Hades corrected._

"_I hate this modern technology! Whatever happened to good, old gardening?" The goddess glared at the wooden railing like it should be agreeing with her._

"_Now be reasonable, Persephone. Surely a little fun can't be all that bad," Hades argued._

"_That's what you said about the telegraph! And has it gotten any better?"_

"_Now dear..." Hades tried to interrupt but Persephone was on a role, "Then it was the light bulb. So what if some son of Hephaestus found a way to make a little glass sphere light up, whatever happened to torches?"_

"_Well I thought it was useful." Hades muttered, but once again Persephone didn't seem to hear him._

_Hades frowned at the clouds that were now gathered together and a lot closer but shrugged it off as Persephone's rant continued, "... and was it not you who screamed so load it caused an earthquake after Hermes and those blasted serpents of his invented that Internet thingy and your computer fell?"_

"_Crashed and I did not "scream" I loudly expressed my displeasure." he muttered._

"_Oh? And is that what you did when Hermes overnight-delivery lost your Guitar Hero 3 game?" She smirked._

_The clouds were really close now with lightning flickering between them, but I didn't pay them much attention because I just knew I'd never look at Guitar Hero the same way again._

"_Hey that was a great game!" Hades protested._

"_It's a game now, is it? I believe you once said it was an advanced way to train your reflexes." She asked._

"_Oh, right." He said distractedly._

_Hades was glaring at the gathering storm now with a look that would have sent most rational beings crying for their mommas, but Persephone put a hand on his arm and tried to step in front of him. "What is it, dear?" She asked._

_As much as I hated Hades, I wanted to yell at them to run, to get out of there, but my voice wouldn't work. I could feel a presence in the storm. It was ancient and I'd never felt something that powerful, but somehow I knew that was just a taste of what it could do._

"_No, it can't be. He's never..." Hades muttered then he seemed to snap out of it, "Persephone get inside. Run!"_

_A familiar long, black sword with a key for a handle appeared in his hands and he pointed it at the storm clouds that were now right off the side of the balcony. "You should have stayed in Tartarus." He growled, but I could have sworn he looked nervous._

_A faint, rumbling laugh echoed from the clouds._

_An arch of black fire shot from Hades' sword and vaporized a few of the huge, inky black clouds, but almost immediately they started to reform. Black vapor strands weaving back together._

"_Persephone, go. Now," Hades yelled but she just stood there in front of him, like she was frozen, "Now Persephone!"_

_The hair on the back of my neck stood up as the air charged with electricity, Hades seemed to feel it too but even his godly powers were too slow. A wall of black energy started to form around Persephone but the same rumbling laugh sounded from the clouds as a blast of lightning struck the wooden planks around where the goddess was standing and she disappeared in a flash of blinding, searing hot, white light, as Hades was thrown down the hall._

_He struggled to his feet and shook his fist at the sky, "I will crush you for this, Zeus!"_


	4. Dreams, Riddles & Resurrections

**Author's Note:** Hi, sorry for taking so long to update, I just wanted to say thanks to xSonofDeath13x for reviewing. **Warning: This chapter has major spoilers for my last book The Fall of Time, so if you're still reading that one or are planning on reading it, I would suggest finishing that book first. **Thanks, Riptide2

Chapter 4: Dreams, Riddles & Resurrections

_"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world." - Oscar Wilde._

I tried to go back to sleep, but every time I heard that rumbling laugh from the clouds, saw the look on Hades' face as he vowed to get revenge on Zeus, or felt that thing in the clouds' presence. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that night.

I gave up trying to sleep at about four-thirty and just went to get dressed. I was about to grab Riptide and get some practice in, when I noticed a strange blue light flickering from my night stand. I stepped over to it on the top was my desk lamp, some candy wrappers, my apartment key, some mortal money and drachmas, and Riptide. I blinked as a necklace appeared beside Riptide, or at least I was sure it hadn't been there before.

It was on a black cord with a small silver clasp, tied to the middle was a rectangular piece of sea rock. There were imprints of fossilized seashells on the sides and on the front was a three tipped spear, a trident, inlaid in gold. It was resting on a single, folded sheet of paper.

I knew immediately it was from my father; I could feel his power in the pale blue, flickering light.

I reached out to take the paper and the light seemed to wrap around my hand. It was almost like my father was right in the room, like he'd just laid a hand on my arm and smiled.

I stepped back as the blue light flared before fading away. I picked up the necklace and unfolded the paper.

In the middle a single sentence was written in a man's clear, bold script.

_When the time is right, use it wisely._

I frowned as I reread the note. How was I supposed to use a necklace?

I looked down at the gold trident engraved in the front. "Thank you, Dad."

Like I'd expected I got no response.

Shrugging, I slipped it into my pocket beside Riptide.

I was just stepping out as the conch horn sounded.

Since Tyson wasn't at Camp, I sat alone at the Poseidon table. I couldn't help missing Grover. I'd gotten an Iris message from him in the spring saying he was going to fly to Europe to check on the nature spirits there, but I hadn't heard from him since, even with the empathy link. He wasn't supposed to be back until the end of the summer, but I was still worried about him.

I almost made it through breakfast without Chiron hounding me. Guess I should explain, when we got back from the last quest we didn't exactly tell him the whole story, and he knew it, so he's been trying to figure it out since.

Anyway, Chiron laid a hand on my shoulder as I was about to leave, "Percy, are you alright?" He asked.

I had to look up since his centaur form towered over me, "Yeah, I'm great!" I said sarcastically, but immediately felt bad as the concern in his eyes deepened. I sighed, "Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you. Just..." I wasn't sure if I should tell him or not.

"Percy, what is it?" He asked, as we stepped behind a column.

"I - well I had a dream." I stared over his shoulder at the lake in the distance as I told him about my last dream. Something about it definitely worried him because he never even tried to correct my grammar.

"It's just as I feared." He muttered when I finished.

"What is?" Chiron usually tried to look on the bright side, but if he was worried then it was seriously bad.

Chiron looked grim, "The true reason of your quest."

I grimaced as the memories came flooding back. Annabeth's scream as Hades killed her, that feeling of falling into darkness as Kronos took over my body, and Annabeth crying over me as everything went dark and I died.

"What do you mean 'the true reason'?" I asked trying to shove the memories away.

"I mean that the missing Keys of Death were only one reason for the quest." Chiron's horse half skittered nervously.

"Chiron, for goodness sake enough with the riddles," I knew he could probably assign me clean up duty for the rest of the summer, but I was mad. I'd died on that quest and now here he was telling that the thing I'd died for wasn't the real reason.

"I wish I could tell you more, Percy, but even I do not have all the information." His shoulders sagged and I couldn't get over how old and tired he looked. I mean, Chiron was really old but he usually didn't look it. I couldn't help wondering how many times over the years he'd waited for campers, like Connor, who'd never returned.

I sighed, "Just tell me what you know."

"About a week before the Keys were stolen, Persephone was kidnapped as you saw. Because of how she was taken, Hades has accused Zeus and Demeter, Persephone's own mother, but they deny having had anything to do with her disappearance. The fact is that Tartarus only stole the Keys of Death after Persephone was kidnapped, knowing that Hades was vulnerable and that Zeus would be blamed." Chiron said.

"Do we know who kidnapped Persephone? I mean was it really Zeus?" I knew first hand just how paranoid Zeus could be, he saw enemies in everyone, but this really didn't sound like him. Especially now, since relations between him and Hades were just starting to un-thaw.

Chiron sighed, "I do not believe that Zeus would act so rashly, but without all the facts no one can be above suspicion."

_Story of my life_, I thought, but Chiron wasn't finished.

I didn't miss the way he glanced at the side of my head, at the strip of golden blond hair beside the white from holding the sky, as he continued, "Percy, you haven't been the same since the quest, what actually happened?"

I froze. I'd convinced everyone not to tell Chiron the whole story. We'd told him that Tartarus was stopped before he had the chance to raise Kronos and complete his plan. What was I supposed to tell him now?

"I - I didn't tell you everything. We didn't stop Tartarus before he raised Kronos." The name seemed to darken the day, take the warmth out of the sunlight, even now knowing that Kronos was gone for good, it fell cold and hard over both of us.

I took a breath before continuing, "We tricked him into letting us steal the Keys, but before we did Tartarus enchanted them, so that once I touched them I became Kronos' - host." Chiron looked shocked.

I stared at the marble floor as I continued, "He took over my body. I remember falling and trying to fight him, I remember pleading with Annabeth to kill me, to just get it over with, then lying on the ground and saying goodbye to her, and ... dying." I finished in barely a whisper but I knew he heard me as his eyes widened even more.

It was kind of a relief to just getting it out there, saying it out loud.

He stuttered, "But - how are you - ?"

"Obviously the Fates aren't done with me." I couldn't keep the bitter edge out of my voice. Why couldn't they ever leave me alone?

I could see Chiron wanted to know more but Annabeth ran over just then, saying, "Chiron, they need you over at the archery range."

After he left, Annabeth turned to me, "So what was that about?"

I forced a smile, "Nothing, want to go to the beach?"

She smirked, "Race you there!"

I spent the rest of the morning on the beach with Annabeth, until the Hermes cabin, minus Travis and the still missing Connor, showed up and challenged us to a water fight, which they lost.

After lunch we left them to nurse their bruised egos, and Annabeth and I sparred one-on-one, and I have to admit she kept me on my toes.

We both had to hit the showers before supper, so I didn't see her again until we were lining up.

Sitting alone at the Poseidon table after we gave our offerings, I couldn't help but notice how Chiron kept glancing over at me.

When we'd finished and the nymphs cleared away the dishes, Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble floor for attention, "As you may know, Connor Stoll, son of Hermes, went missing on a quest to the Underworld seven days ago."

Travis was staring at his hands, but from where I was sitting I could see he was crying. I couldn't help but feel guilty. We never should have left without his brother.

At the front Chiron continued, "After so long missing, it is doubtful that our prayers will be answered." Nico frowned at this. "I have asked his brother to say a few words." Chiron finished as Travis walked silently to the front, carrying a folded shroud. It was a golden color with a cadesus in the middle.

"Connor wasn't just my brother, he was my - best friend and - ," Travis gulped and looked up - and froze.

"Miss me?" a familiar voice asked.

I whirled around standing at the entrance was a very much alive Connor.


	5. Of Things That Go Bump in the Night

**Author's Note:** Hi, I know you probably want to kill me for not updating sooner, but I've had a case of writer's block lately. I'm now done school till fall so I should be a little faster in updating. In other news there will be a third Aleika Kai book but it will have to be the last book I write as these ones lay the background. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and encouraged me to continue writing. Thanks, Riptide2

Chapter 5: Of Things That Go Bump in the Night

_"Strange things blow in through my window on the wings of the night wind and I don't worry about my destiny." - Carl Sandburg._

Stifling a yawn, I tried to stretch without waking Annabeth who was dozing with her head on my shoulder. It was well after midnight and the Big House game room was crowded. The heads of the minor cabins were talking around the Ping-Pong table and I could hear ESPN blaring from the living room where most of the major cabin heads were camped out. Annabeth and I were crashed on one couch, while Thalia was polishing her shield on the other one, and Nico was playing with a skeletal dog on the floor.

He'd summoned it about an hour ago when we moved out of the living room after Katie Gardner from Demeter got in an argument with the Hermes cabin over their latest prank. They'd filled all the beds with worms and painted _"Go green, or we'll get you!"_ on the grass roof last week and needless to say the Demeter kids had had it out for them since.

Anyway, I glared at Nico's 'pet' as it growled at me. It was about the size of a German shepherd with glowing reddish-orange eyes and fangs that rivaled a sabre-toothed cat

"Nico, can you try to keep Chewy here under control?" I asked, rolling my eyes as it growled again.

He glared at me for a second before telling it to heel in ancient Greek. It snarled at me again, just to make sure I knew how it felt, before going to lay beside him, though it still kept an eye on me.

Annabeth moved in her sleep and I sighed. The curse of Achilles viewed Connor's return as a possible future threat and made sure I was awake, so while everyone else was chilling, I was wide awake with the ADHD part of my brain running scenarios and battle plans.

I heard the sound of wheelchair runners on the hardwood floors a moment before Chiron wheeled into the room. "How is he?" I asked.

"He's stable. He'll be fine in a couple months." Chiron answered and the relief was pretty evident on his face.

"How severe are his injuries?" Annabeth asked now wide awake.

"Minor. He has several broken bones. Mostly ribs but also a fractured lower right leg and wrist." There were a few murmurs, mostly from the minor cabins. They were new to Camp and not really used to the survival-of-the-fittest attitude most people lived by. The Ares cabin had worse injuries from the last Capture-the-Flag game.

"What happened after Tartarus' men caught him?" Thalia asked.

Chiron's brow furrowed like he was worried about something, "Apparently the Keeper had some of his men take Connor back to a cave while he headed for the Styx. They took him to a dungeon but never returned."

"When my father destroyed the army," Nico interjected, nodding.

"Yes," Chiron agreed, "he wasn't released until Hades' own army came to the cave looking for - something."

I frowned knowing exactly what, or rather who, the something was - Queen Persephone.

"Hades released him?" Someone at the back asked doubtfully.

"I suppose even the Lord of Death must pay his debts." Chiron mused, ignoring, or just not seeing, Nico's glare and the way he muttered under his breath.

"What's the risk to Camp from this Keeper?" It was Anastasia who spoke up.

I froze as a familiar presence touched at the back of my mind. Tartarus had spoken of an 'ally from above' and some bigger plan, but if he did have help and that ally attacked Camp, I honestly wasn't sure I'd be able to fight, not like this anyway.

_Go ahead coward, _a patronizing voice whispered in my mind. _Lie to your friends. Tell them there's no threat._

Chiron cleared his throat rather pointedly. I looked up every eye in the room was turned to me, waiting for my answer. "He's not a threat." I hoped my voice didn't sound as hollow to them as it did to me.

I could feel his amusement the ever present imprint of someone else's thoughts on my own, as that chilling laugh came back. _You're as pathetic as the group you lead. A real leader never shows fear._

_Go find a nice cliff and jump off, _I growled back mentally.

"Are you sure?" One of Annabeth's siblings asked.

Cold laughter echoed in my mind even as I answered, "Yeah, he's dead."

The council lasted another twenty minutes before adjourning. While the other cabin heads left, trying to suppress yawns, Nico, Thalia, Annabeth, and I never moved.

After Chiron closed the door he sat staring at it for a moment, like he didn't want to face us.

We shared a glance and it was one of those moments where you just know what the other person is thinking and we agreed on one thing; Chiron was hiding something.

"What aren't you telling them?" I finally asked.

He turned the wheelchair reluctantly and rolled over to where I was standing. Laying a hand on my arm, he said, "Percy, Connor has some... new information. Come with me. All of you."

I sighed as we followed him to the infirmary. If it was good news Chiron would have told everyone, so what now?

Even before we got to the infirmary, I could hear Travis and Connor joking back and forth at each other.

"I can't believe you guys pulled that without me." Connor was complaining.

Travis held his hands up in surrender, "Hey it was Aaron's idea, not mine! Man is he devious!"

Travis was sitting on an uncomfortable looking plastic chair beside Connor's bed and I know it sounds clichéd but he looked like a totally different person. The old Travis was back and it was a welcome change from the mopey, depressed guy we'd brought back to Camp.

We all said greetings along the lines of, "Hey Connor! How are you? Glad you're not dead!" and he grabbed a crutch from under the bed, pointing it at his brother's head. "See? I told you they missed me!" He exclaimed grinning mischievously.

I rolled my eyes as the others groaned.

Chiron stamped his hoof on the floor causing a metal tray with some bandages and a pair of scissors to rattle on the stand beside the bed. I hadn't even noticed him ditch the magic wheelchair that now stood in the corner by the door. He stood at his full height now since the infirmary ceiling was higher than most.

He sighed in relief, "That's better! My fetlocks had almost fallen asleep." Then his expression turned serious, "Connor, please. Tell them what you learned."

Any humor drained from the mood as Connor's eyes took on a haunted look, "I didn't learn much but what I did doesn't look real good for us."

He used his good hand to rub at his temple as if the very motion would force the memories from his mind. "Tartarus wasn't lying. He did have allies aside from – um - you know."

Sighing in defeat, I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose with one hand. This was exactly why I'd made the others lie about what had really happened on the quest. If they knew what I'd become, what Tartarus had made me into, they'd never be able to trust me again. Not that I could blame them; I wouldn't trust me either.

I took a moment to make sure all the thoughts echoing around in my mind were mine alone. I know it may sound silly but since the quest, since I'd literally merged souls with the person who'd tried to destroy everything I held dear, it wasn't something I took for granted.

Finally, I tuned back into the conversation going on around me. "Do we know who these allies are? Because I'm betting they have a back-up plan." Annabeth was saying.

She caught my eyes and her storm-cloud gray ones held concern and a single question, _you okay?_ I nodded and forced a smile that I'm not quite sure she bought.

"How many Titans can there really be left? Atlas is stuck under the sky, Hyperion got turned into a tree, and Prometheus is in hiding." I said, though I did catch Annabeth grimace at my mention of holding the sky. Even now, years later, I have to admit a little shiver ran down my spine too.

Thalia rolled her eyes, but it was Annabeth that answered, "Percy, there are thousands of Titans. Most of them aren't real powerful forces, but a few still are. Together they would be a sizable threat."

"But they can't be regrouping. If they were the gods would have noticed. Someone would have raised the alarm, right?" Nico asked, frowning.

"Not – necessarily - ," Thalia answered hesitantly.

"Connor, tell them what else you heard." Chiron prompted.

He sighed like this was the last thing he wanted to remember. "The two guards that took me to the dungeon started talking. I guess they thought I was out cold. Anyway they said that the sky would soon belong to them and that when it did they would raise Mount Othrys and bring about a new golden age."

For a moment no one spoke. Annabeth was biting her lip, obviously deep in thought, Nico was muttering something under his breath, and Thalia looked like she wanted to blast a whole in the wall.

Finally I spoke up, "It looks like my vision was right. Someone is trying to get rid of your father."

The glare I was getting from Thalia was a perfect ten.

Chiron laid a hand on my shoulder and I flinched, "Do you now see just how serious a threat we are facing?" He asked.

"When aren't we facing a threat?" I asked bitterly. Were a few years of peace so much to ask?

Chiron gave me an odd look, "We must speak of this further in the morning. For now get some rest, all of you."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. We're all in mortal danger, but sweet dreams!

We said goodnight to Connor before heading out to our own cabins. Travis jogged down to the Hermes cabin where the lights were still on, Nico disappeared into the shadows around his cabin, and I watched Thalia glance down at Artemis' silvery cabin before opening the door to cabin one.

I walked Annabeth to her door and we kissed goodnight before I crossed the commons area to my own cabin. I looked back and waved to her before closing the door.

Now that I knew there was no immediate threat, or at least nothing I could do about it at the moment, I was beyond tired.

Not bothering to change, I dropped Riptide and the necklace from my father on the nightstand, kicked off my shoes, and crashed.

I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

_In the dream I was hiking up a rocky trail. In satisfaction I stopped to look back at my progress. Unfortunately I recognized the place. A sprawling city spread at the base of the mountain slope I was climbing. In the distance the Golden Gate Bridge stretched across San Francisco Bay. Unlike the last time I was here, I could see clearly through the thick shroud of Mist covering the summit where the remains of a black marble palace laid in ruins. The last time I'd been here it'd been a rebuilt open air Greek temple._

_The air above Mount Tampalis swirled into a huge black funnel cloud where Atlas held the sky. Even from here I could hear him cursing the gods._

_I climbed the last few feet and started weaving between marble blocks. Some were only about the size of baseballs but others were larger then small cars. Stepping between two columns that were broken in half but surprisingly still standing, I entered a ruined throne room. It was the black and gold version of Olympus. Well, it would have been if it hadn't been destroyed._

_The room made Grand Central Station look like a broom closet. At the end two thrones sat side by side, the larger one was golden and glowed with a light like the sun but harsher. The other was slightly smaller and looked like a modern day executive's chair, the kind you'd find at the head of any boardroom's table. It was made of dark wood, mahogany probably, and covered in burgundy upholstery. I don't know how I knew this since I was standing a few football fields away, but I did; that if you looked closely you'd see Greek letters engraved all over it describing prophecies that hadn't happened yet and a few that had._

_On the smaller throne sat a man in a matching business suit and polished black shoes. He might have been the CEO of a major company except for his face: it was covered in small scratches like he'd been attacked by a very angry gerbil._

_I scrambled behind part of a fallen pillar as an easily twenty foot tall man approached from behind me. He didn't seem to notice me as he continued toward the thrones. He was wearing black armor with silvery dots all over it, like the night sky. He carried a spear as tall as he was, and wore an almost Viking style helmet with a pair of ram's horns curling from the sides._

_Reaching the end of the hall, he ignored the other man, instead removing his helmet and placing it atop the golden throne. It seemed to smoke for a moment before flickering and beginning to glow also._

"_But that is Hyperion's throne! You cannot - ," the other man protested._

"_Silence Prometheus," The black armored dude commanded, sitting almost gingerly. "It belongs to me now." He too seemed to smoke before the glow spread over him but it wasn't as bright as the throne._

"_But Krios-" Prometheus argued._

_Krios raised his hand to cut off his protest and Prometheus actually flinched. Then the black armored Titan clapped his hands twice and a woman appeared sitting on the ground at their feet. She had blond hair that was tangled and dirty and her pretty face was streaked with dirt. The once floral pattered dress she wore was now tattered and she was missing her left sandal._

_Krios smiled savagely, "Well now, Queen Persephone. I do hope your accommodations were suitable?"_

_She rose to her feet quickly and glared at him full force. "Are these really necessary?" She demanded, holding up the shackles that bound her hands. An identical celestial bronze pair chained her ankles, but loosely enough that she could walk somewhat normally._

"_Persephone, you know we must keep up appearances for our eavesdropping guests."_

_I'd been working my way slowly closer as they talked and now Krios' awful grin turned on me._

_I froze as cold laughter started in the recesses of my mind to echo through my skull and my dreams faded to black._

_But of course it didn't end there..._

_I was running through the thick trees of a dense forest I didn't recognize with Riptide in my hand. Something big was moving through the trees behind me, following me._

"_Got to get away," I panted, "have to keep going." _

_The movement behind me stopped like it'd momentarily lost my scent and I paused in a clearing to catch my breath._

_A bony hand touched my shoulder and I twisted away, spinning to swing Riptide at the owner's head. It disappeared in a black mist and my sword lodged in a tree trunk._

_My senses opened up and out of the corner of my eye I could see the mist gathering, reforming. Now I had enemies on two fronts._

_I yanked Riptide out, twirling it in one hand to buy time. Turning around I backed away from where the mist was still swirling. Putting my back against a tree trunk, I waited. I didn't like fighting when I had nowhere to go, but I also didn't know if there were more enemies. If there were this position would protect my Achilles' Spot from an attack from behind._

_The black smoke finally cleared forming the figures of three ancient ladies in loose black dresses, the middle one held a knitting bag. My current worst nightmare: the Fates._

"_We didn't come here to fight with you, Perseus." The voice of the middle one, who seemed to be their spokesman, said in my mind._

_I sagged against the tree, my momentary energy burst long gone. "Why do you keep showing up? What do you want with me?"_

"_You are the hero we have chosen. You must stop this new threat," The middle Fate took a step closer to ma and raised her hand, but I pointed Riptide at her chest and she backed off._

"_And if I don't?" The thing in the forest was forgotten for the moment._

"_Then the reign of Zeus will end and you will lose your precious Olympus." Their usually dull eyes were now blazing and I abruptly realized making an enemy out of the Fates was a very bad idea, but I was too angry to care._

"_No. I'm done! You can find another hero." Even as I said it, I realized I really did mean it. I wanted out. I wanted peace._

_Two of them hissed at me even as the other spoke, "Without our help your quest will fail."_

_That caught me off guard, "What quest?"_

"_You cannot run from your fate. It is already beginning." A different voice, the one on the rights, whispered in my mind._

_Rachel's words echoed in my ears, "The prophecy is not complete."_

"_I can damn well try!" They didn't seem fazed by my defiance, not that I'd expected them to be._

_The one on the right tried to move forward but the middle Fate held up a hand to stop her. They frowned at me, they're expressions a mix of disappointment, resentment, and from the right one maybe just a hint of understanding and pity._

_They disappeared together, turning into a black smoke that drifted up into the sky on the breeze._

"_Good riddance," I muttered._

_I was about to turn and start running again when an ear splitting roar shattered my dreams._


	6. The Past & The Present

**Author's Note:** Hi, first I would like to thank ty (Don't worry I do have a plan other than Percy sitting at Camp moping!), erissia (Thank you so much!), Shezam95 (Here it is! Sorry it's so late, I really thought I'd have it up in a couple of days but I got this idea and added like four more pages!), and demigod101 (Not to fear, all will be revealed ...eventually!) A great big 'Thank you!' to you all! Secondly, I'm so sorry for not updating sooner, but life has a way of pushing this down the list of priorities. I'll try not to take this long in the future! Thirdly, I recently posted a one-shot for The Lost Hero that you might want to check out. I would really like to hear your thoughts on how I did with Annabeth. I usually don't do too well at writing her character so I hope I didn't murder her too much! Thanks again, Riptide2

Chapter 6: The Past & the Present

_"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future." - John F. Kennedy._

I woke to someone- something- pounding on my door. My first thought: monster. My hand crept towards Riptide on the nightstand.

"Percy, open this door!" It was Annabeth's voice.

Relaxing, I yelled, "Come on in!"

She pushed the door open calling, "Get outta bed, Sleepyhead! You're going to be late."

Groaning I rolled out of bed to glance at the clock on my desk: 7:55. I stared at it for a moment before I belatedly realized breakfast was at eight.

Oh shit. I was so going to be late.

Annabeth grinned at my expression and tossed my runners at me, "Hurry up!"

I yanked them on, ran a hand through my hair in a futile attempt to tame it, and grabbed Riptide off my nightstand, "Let's go!"

I grabbed her hand and together we ran for the dining pavilion. We arrived just as Chiron called for attention. "Take your seats please." He waited for everyone to quiet down before continuing, "We must celebrate the return of one of our campers. Welcome back, Connor Stoll, Son of Hermes!"

The round of applause was thunderous. Chiron raised his goblet, "To the gods!"

After we gave our offering, I sat at the Poseidon table staring at my food. I couldn't help but run over the prophecy in my head. _Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, _check. Seven of us had gone to the Underworld, eight had returned.

_To storm or fire the world shall fall. _That line still bothered me. I assumed it meant the world had fallen when Kronos had made his return by taking over my body, but the prophecy made it sound like the entire world would fall and in the general scheme of things my death wasn't _**that**_ important.

_An oath to keep with a final breath, _been there, done that, Annabeth had made me promise to stop the Keeper no matter what the cost, just before she died and I'd made her swear to kill me if Kronos did take over my body, which she had. So really that line could apply to either of us. I'd died to keep my promise to her that I'd stop Tartarus, but I'd also died because I'd made her promise to kill me.

_Foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. _Check again... I guess. Tartarus had left me, slowly losing my mind to Kronos, and the other quest members for dead once Kronos finally won out while he and his army marched for Orpheus' Door and Olympus.

I shook my head. Just thinking about the quest brought back some pretty overwhelming thoughts. Not because they were morbid. No, I'd seen far worse during the war, but because they were just too much to process.

Watching the person who tied me to the mortal world die, my own death, Kronos' ever present taunts...

A presence seeped into my mind, I tried to fight it but it wormed its way past my defenses. _Your past will destroy you if you do not embrace it. Then again it might just do that anyway. _The voice faded before I could voice my denial.

Chiron laid a hand on my shoulder and I jumped as the presence hissed and retreated farther. "Percy, are you alright?"

I resisted the urge to role my eyes at his concerned expression and gave my usual preprogrammed answer, "Yeah, I'm fine Chiron. What did you need?"

He watched me for a few more seconds before responding, "I just wanted to check on you, and to thank you for volunteering to teach today's sword-fighting class."

I wanted to explain to him that I did _not_ need a babysitter, but I bit my tongue.

"Whoa! Wait a minute! What sword-fighting class?" I asked, but he was already gone. I hadn't even heard him leave... or anyone else for that matter. The amphitheater was completely deserted.

"Great, now I'm talking to myself."

I knew Annabeth was teaching a class in the arena this morning too, and I only had a few minutes before people started to show up, so I jogged over to find her coming from the armory with an armful of swords and daggers.

"Here let me help you with that." I offered.

She blew the hair out of her eyes, "Ok, you can grab the rest of it."

"'The rest of it' how many people are in your class?" I yelled over my shoulder at her back.

I could hear the matching smirk and shrug in her voice, "A few."

So she wanted to play it that way? I smirked as I slipped in the low doorway to the armory. It was a simple stone building about the size of a large storage unit in between the arena and the forges. The walls were lined with hooks on which every size and weight of bronze weapons hung, down the center a table was covered with bows and quivers of bronze arrows. I grabbed the pile of swords she'd already laid out, ignoring their razor sharp edges, it wasn't like I could get a paper cut, and headed back to the arena, closing the door behind me.

She'd already set up two tables and the one was covered in knives and daggers so I set my armful on the other where she was arranging a set of longish swords. I casually grabbed a few more and set them on the table, "So, Annabeth, Chiron mentioned something." Her shoulders tensed, "... about me volunteering to teach a sword-fighting class but it's funny, and I can't seem to remember ever doing such a thing..."

I smirked, "So what'd you sign me up for this time?"

She ignored my question, instead leaning across the table and whispering in my ear, "Then you..."

Smirking she dumped a set of swords into my arms and spun away"...have a worse memory than I thought, Seaweed Brain, because I distinctly remember you stating that you would _love_ to."

Tossing me a teasing wave over her shoulder, she called back, "Have fun," and started greeting her students at the other table.

I groaned, how come she always got the better of me?

Sighing I gestured the remaining campers over. They were mainly the younger kids from the Hermes cabin though I recognized a few from the minor cabins. I bit back another groan; now I not only had to teach a class I had no idea what to do for but on top of that, I had to deal with Pranksters Inc.'s apprentices, great.

Off the top of my head, I said, "Okay let's get you all some weapons! Then I'll demonstrate some basic strikes, split you into pairs, and you can duel it out."

Once I got everyone a weapon that fit them, more or less, I tried to pair them off evenly. It wasn't easy since a few of the minor gods' kids were older than the rest. I told them to begin and started watching for things they need to correct.

There hadn't been a major monster sighting since right after the war, most of them were probably still licking their wounds, so nobody was too worried but they also didn't know what I did. So I was watching for any little mistake, because in a real fight that would be all it would take to get killed.

"Keep your guard lower, Mark." I told one guy tapping Riptide on his shield.

"Try to watch your defense more. You'll get it." I said. Helping another guy up and giving him a pat on the back. He nodded, fierce determination in his eyes, but no sooner had he swung at his opponent then she hit his sword by the hilt and sent it clattering out of his hand, again.

I winced and added an internal 'eventually'; aloud I complemented her with "Nice swing." and him with, "Remember what I said; don't give up!"

They both nodded and I moved on to the next pair. Anastasia from Phobios was battling a boy from Morpheus. He was tall with messy black hair that fell into his bright sky blue eyes. He looked around 13, a little older then when I first came to Camp Half-Blood. I remembered his name was Toby something.

As I watched, Anastasia pulled her sword back for an overhead strike and he raised his own sword a little in anticipation. She swung down but changed direction midway, aiming for his left side. I thought she had him but he side-stepped at the last second and, locking his sword over hers in a slightly clumsy disarming maneuver, twisted it from her hands.

He glanced over at me, slightly out of breath; his sword tip hovered an inch from her neck. I had no idea how he'd seen that one coming; her body language had been perfect, giving nothing away, and I hadn't even seen that feint coming. He must have though because I knew of only a handful of people who had reflexes quick enough to react without warning like that.

"Wow nice saves Toby! Anastasia great try; even I wouldn't have expected that." I handed her sword back and nodded for them to start again.

This time she held back, letting the full effect of her rather intimidating personality work its own magic as they circled, her waiting for him to make the first move, but he didn't seem to want to, even though I saw a few places where he could have surprised her with a little luck.

Their fight was slow to start and I should have moved on to the next pair but something about Toby intrigued me. There was no way he should have won the last round.

Finally she seemed to get bored and took a simple strike at his sword arm. He stepped up to knock her blade aside even as the other pairs around them subconsciously flinched away. Anastasia twisted her sword as soon as it touched his, but again he was ready and somehow managed to push back enough that her sword fell to the ground.

I thought she had lost but, instead of surrendering she lashed out with a roundhouse kick. He side-stepped in almost a bored manner as if he was expecting exactly that, then kicked her sword out of reach and leveled his with her chest.

I narrowed my eyes, it was almost an unspoken rule that in a class as soon as you dropped your sword you had lost, so he _couldn't_have expected her to react like that.

"Don't worry about it, Anastasia. Do you mind if I take the next round?" If this guy could deal with her so easily I wanted to see what he could do against someone with more experience.

Still miffed from her defeat, she shrugged. "Knock yourself out."

I nodded with a grin as Toby's eyes widened, he stared at me for a second before nodding.

I took that to mean okay, and spun Riptide a couple times in my hand. I started with something simple: a quick strike at his arm. He stopped it as soon as my blade came at him, but as soon as Riptide touched his sword it pulsed slightly, emanating a golden flash, before settling down to a bright blue glow. I almost dropped my sword; it hadn't done that since the quest... since I'd died. The flashback hit me like a ton of bricks.

_Pain lanced up my spine, making my head reel. My eyes burned like acid; I was gasping for breath and I dropped Riptide into Annabeth's hands, "Finish it."_

_The voice snarled, "You're mine Perseus Jackson. MINE!"_

_I screamed, clutching my head, the pain was getting worse. Annabeth backed away from me in alarm, "Percy? Percy!"_

_I was losing control; that's when I noticed the cold. It seeped into my limbs with shocking speed. First I couldn't move my fingers then the whole arm. It was like my body was in a deep freeze. _

_Annabeth please!_

_Then I couldn't talk, I was screaming but the voice that came from my mouth definitely wasn't mine. It laughed, the cold cackling ringing in my ears, "Perseus is dead, girl. Now it's time for you to join your hero."_

_No!_

_Annabeth..._

Toby stumbled, backing up a step, and his sword slipped away from Riptide. The glow pulsed, flashed golden, and faded.

He teetered for just a second before stepping up and twisting his sword to try and disarm me. I knocked his blade aside and leveled Riptide with the side of his neck.

"Don't hesitate. Never hesitate." I hissed, "If I was fighting for real you'd already be dead."

He nodded slightly and something not unlike fear flashed in his eyes before he looked down to recover his bronze sword, but I didn't care. If he was afraid then that was all for the better, he should be. In a real fight that second would have cost him his life.

He straightened up and I snapped, "Again."

Apparently he was taking my words to heart because this time he definitely _didn't_ hesitate and our swords met again in a shower of sparks, "That's more like it."

I tried a few more strikes and Toby parried them easily, before I decided to try something else. My plan was to feint a strike at his right shoulder, which would leave his left side and leg open, while praying that, if he did catch me, it wouldn't trigger another flashback. I should have known my plan would have a loop hole; they always did if I was being honest.

I started the feint then shifted my momentum, down and across, but to my shock he moved with me. Almost like he'd known what I was planning before I'd even thought to try it.

His sword slipped under Riptide, diverting its course, before he started to twist his blade over mine, and in that split second the memory rushed to the forefront of my mind.

_She knelt in front of a giant in black armor. He was seething, "Why haven't you bought me him yet?"_

"_It wasn't safe. He's beginning to suspect my true intentions, but..." she hesitated, "My Lord I am concerned about the plan. He will never help us willingly and if he discovers my deception..."_

"_This is not your concern, daughter of Zeus. I will succeed once all my allies are gathered by my side and you will be among them in a place of honor if you do not fail me. Just mind your duty and bring me Jackson before the next full moon."_

"_But Lord," she stuttered, "He is too powerful. If the Spirit does not take..."_

_He snarled, "Do you doubt my plan?"_

"_N... no, of course not My Lord," she responded uneasily._

"_Then mind your place." He turned his back on her._

"_But..."_

"_Leave me!"_

_The venom in her voice would have frightened a drakon and she snapped, "Yes sir!"_

Riptide clattered from my hands and jolted on the stone floor as the vision flashed and shut off. A kind of shocked ripple ran through the crowd that had stopped to watch our match and I saw Annabeth's eyes narrow at the back. I could practically read her mind, _what's gotten into you?_

I glanced around quickly. The other campers, including the ones Annabeth had been teaching, had stopped to watch and were whispering among themselves. I caught a few snips of their conversation,

"A first year camper..."

"... with like no training..."

"... How did he...?"

"... Defeated Percy..."

_Go on, _the voice taunted; _try to save your image. Be a real leader... if that's possible._

I desperately needed an excuse, some way to turn this around. Toby hesitated like he didn't know what to do now that he'd gotten the sword out of my hand, but determination glinted in his eyes and he stepped forward, putting himself between me and Riptide.

I considered my options: shrug it off? No, not with this many people watching. Maybe if it had only been the two of us I could have told him it was beginner's luck or the fact that I hadn't been fighting all out, but now?

Blame it on the sun in my eyes or an old injury? That wouldn't work either; gossip traveled like wildfire around Camp Half-Blood, especially the Aphrodite and, surprisingly enough, Hecate Cabins, and I doubted there was a soul here that didn't know I was invulnerable. For the thousandth time this summer, I cursed my invulnerability.

Claim I'd let him win to show how that technique worked in a real fight? That _might_ work on the others, but not Annabeth. She knew my fighting style, if you could call it a style, probably better than I did and I could tell she'd already noticed my momentary blackout and was probably planning on interrogating me later.

Toby raised his sword in preparation for a strike aimed at my neck. The sun glinting off Riptide caught my eye. I was about to dismiss it, when I got an idea. That was it!

But I needed to keep him talking to give me time to concentrate. I nodded casually like he hadn't almost whooped me in a sword fight. Of course I wasn't really fighting to kill; if I had been he wouldn't have lasted five seconds, but still, for a guy who'd only been at Camp a few months it was impressive.

"Lesson number one," I announced, ignoring their stares, "Tailor your attacks to your opponent's weaknesses. Target them without leaving yourself open. Now normally that would be a great move and it still is pretty good..."

I don't have a clue how I knew how to do this, let alone that it would still work, but I focused on the ground at my feet. The slight vibrations running through it, directing them to where Riptide was laying, and a slight shudder passed through the earth.

"But," I continued, "You have to know your enemy and that won't work on me."

A bead of cold sweat ran down my neck. Toby glanced at his sword, wavered for a moment, and resumed his stance. Finally Riptide started to shake, rattling against the stone floor, and then I could feel the smooth, metal handle pressed against my palm even though I was a good five, maybe six, feet away. Maybe there were some benefits to what had happened.

I focused a little harder, _Come on,_ and slowly Riptide rose off the ground. A slight shudder ran through it, and I could feel the hilt shake in my hand, then it started to flicker an unearthly gold and I almost, _**almost**__, _dropped my concentration. I could feel my face go white. _Not again, not now, _I pleaded and it seemed to stop, but I was still a little wary.

Trying to not let Toby see, I twisted my sword hand around to the same position it would be in if I were standing behind him holding my sword. Riptide flipped around neatly in midair and, following my commands, rose until the point was level with the middle of Toby's back, right between his shoulder blades. The whispering start once more:

"How is he...?"

"I don't know."

"_Normal_ weapons just don't do that."

"First the earthquake and now _this__..."_

"Since that quest..."

"I've only ever seen a god do that..."

"... or a _Titan_..."

They didn't realize just how close to the truth they were getting.

Toby glanced behind him to see just what everyone was pointing at and froze. I moved my hand up a bit and Riptide moved with it, poking him slightly.

I met Annabeth's gaze at the back of the crowd. Her face was ashen white, her eyes had this kind of haunted look, and she looked like she was trying not to cry. She caught me watching and looked down; her blonde hair fell across her face and she wrapped her arms around her torso. _Great going, _I mentally berated myself, _Way to remind her..._

Opening my mouth, I focused again on Toby in front of me, "Two rules to remember no matter what." I announced to the class at large, "One: Never assume your opponent is out. And two: Always, _always_, watch your back."

"He beat you, so how is that fair?" A red faced girl from Nemesis yelled.

"It isn't." I retorted, "Never expect a fair fight, because out there, ninety percent of the time you won't get it."

That shut her up.

Toby dropped his sword, signaling his surrender, "How did you _do_ that?"

_Like I'm going to tell you,_ I shrugged. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

I recognized the clip-clop sound of horse hooves a second before Chiron stormed into the arena. He looked flustered, "I... I am sorry to interrupt but something has come up. Percy, you must come with me and Annabeth, you too. We have much to discuss."


	7. Predictions & Prophecies

**Author's Note:** This chapter was originally the second half of chapter 6, but it was starting to get pretty long so I split it in half, so if this one seems a little off at the beginning that's why. Also please don't expect regular updates, this story is still primarily on the back burner but when/if the muse continues to strike I'll be working on it periodically. Thank you, Riptide2

Chapter 7: Predictions & Prophecies

_"Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy." - Brian Tracy._

I shared a glance with Annabeth as we followed Chiron. She's didn't look as shaken as before and I could practically see her trying to analyze the situation. She caught me watching and shrugged, then tipped her head toward him.

I followed her eyes, Chiron's horse-half was flecked with grass and mud and he still had his favorite bow and quiver over his shoulder and a saddle bag flung across his back. Not that unusual for Chiron especially if he'd just come from the archery range. _What?_ I mouthed at Annabeth.

She rolled her eyes and mouthed back. _You're hopeless. Look, his bag._

It was just a plain old, brown leather bag, but he hadn't fastened the flap right and sticking out of the corner was a rolled up scroll. The paper was brown and brittle and it was tied around the middle with a red ribbon. From a folded up corner I could make out the edge of someone's scrawling old fashioned script, but not enough to read it. For some reason it looked familiar…

"_Now, Percy, the Prophecy," Chiron was saying._

_I nodded mutely and Annabeth passed me a tiny rolled up scroll. I took it and unroll it slowly. The paper felt so dry and brittle I was afraid it was going to crumble to pieces and then I'd never know my fate._

_Finally I got it open, started to read, and froze, my mind refusing to accept the words my eyes were staring at._

"_Percy," Chiron prompted, "Read the rest."_

_My throat felt so dry I doubted I could swallow but I forced myself to continue out loud; to accept my fate, as the cold started to seep into my fingers and up my arm and Riptide grew heavy in my pocket._

I rubbed my arm, trying to work the ice out of my veins, and eyed the scroll warily. It was different writing but definitely the same paper.

Annabeth touched my hand and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

She frowned, "Hey are you ok?" Her voice was barely audible but Chiron slowed down just slightly in front of us.

"Yeah," I whispered back in the same tone, "it's just… It's the same."

_I know. What do you think it is? _She mouthed with a nervous glance at Chiron.

I shrugged and she continued, _m__aybe another prophecy?_

I hoped not. I didn't think I could deal with another prophecy right now.

Annabeth grabbed my hand, lacing her fingers through mine, "Hey, we'll figure it out together."

I gave her a grateful smile and we climbed the steps to the Big House hand-in-hand.

Chiron folded himself into his magic wheelchair, which was waiting by the door, and led us into the game room where Nico and Rachel were already waiting.

"Hey." Nico greeted us but he looked distracted, Rachel was moving between chewing on her fingernails and drawing on her cutoffs and didn't seem to notice us.

"I have just received word from Olympus that the gods have called for a quest… to retrieve Queen Persephone."

In my head the voice snorted in contempt, _Looks like the reluctant hero has a quest after all. Good luck with that._

I growled, _Go to hell._

_If only it were that simple, _it sneered. _But I've already been there._

Annabeth's eyes widened, "Wait… She's missing?"

I nodded quickly, "Yeah, she has been since before our quest."

Her glare was absolutely dangerous, "You knew about this the entire time _and didn't tell me?"_

"I uh… guess so? Well no… I err, only found out a couple days ago."

"And you didn't tell me?" She repeated.

I was so dead. I gulped, "Look I had this dream, but the thing is that Persephone's been kidnapped and Hades is blaming Zeus and threatening war if she isn't returned by the solstice."

Nico nodded, Chiron must have filled him in already, but Annabeth's brow was knit together, "Why would he blame _Zeus?"_

"I'll fill you later," I said with a sigh, I had a feeling where this was going, and she nodded.

"And now matters have escalated beyond negotiations and threats," Chiron cut in, "Your father, Percy, proposed the quest to defuse the situation which both brothers agreed to… but with conditions. Hades has demanded that his son be a member."

Nico's eyebrows shot up then he frowned like he'd just remembered something. My eyes narrowed, what in the world was up with him lately?

"Also," Chiron continued, "Percy, Lord Poseidon wants you to lead this new quest."

I wanted to help my dad out, I honestly did, but I couldn't fight the way I used to. I'd proven that pretty well by almost letting a first- year camper cream me, but looking at the determination in Annabeth's eyes I knew I couldn't walk away from this, not yet, because with or without me, she'd go and if something happened to her I'd never forgive myself.

"Then I accept the quest." I said, almost choking on the words.

Chiron nodded, "Good, and Nico?"

He finally focused on Chiron, "I'll go."

"Now that that is settled, who will be your other two companions Percy?"

"Annabeth," I said instantly, "... and Thalia. That is if she'll go, of course?"

Annabeth grabbed my hand again and said, "You couldn't keep me away."

I hadn't expected any less and I assumed Thalia would want to get in on the action to, but Chiron was frowning, "I am afraid that Thalia will not be able to accompany you."

"Why?" I started to ask, but Rachel swooned suddenly and I had to grab her shoulder before she smacked her head into the corner of the table.

"Rachel? Rachel! Are you ok?" I leaned down as her head lolled to one side and her eyes rolled back in her head. "Rachel, can you hear me?"

Suddenly she sat up straight like she'd just had way too much caffeine, her hands went to my shoulders and she started shaking me, hissing "_The sky, danger from above!"_

I jumped back, stumbling into Annabeth, her nails started to dig into my shoulders but I didn't feel the pain. Rachel's eyes glowed serpent green and she shook me again, harder than I would have thought someone her size could have, _"Beware the rising darkness, the world in an eternal night."_

I froze as the presence that was always lurking in the back of my mind shifted and suddenly I could see what Rachel did.

_Mortals were screaming in terror. A newscaster in a candle lit studio talking about freak blackouts in a world where the sun never shone._

_Then the image shifted and I saw myself running down a crowded boardwalk. It shocked me just how worn out I looked, my clothes were a mess and I had someone's dried blood on my hands. Annabeth was by my side yelling at me to get out of here, that this was suicide, as we tried to guide the mortals to safety. I didn't know why but we had to move, had to get these people away from here, it wasn't safe this close to the water, and I was trying to light their path with the bronze glow from my sword. That's when it first hit me how dark it was, if I hadn't had my sword I wouldn't have been able to see for more than a few feet and the temperature was dropping fast. The wind was roaring whipping the sea only a few feet away into a mass of whitecaps and it felt like a hurricane was blowing in._

_I could feel the shift in the seas the second before it happened and stopped dead, pushing the girl I was dragging along toward Annabeth, "Go! Get them out of here!"_

"_Percy-," Her eyes fixed on the massive waves starting to roll in from the mouth of the bay and she shook her head, abruptly starting to back away, "Be careful, Seaweed Brain."_

_I didn't get the chance to respond as the sea exploded behind me, stinging my skin like acid as people screamed._

Rachel jerked back, the green glow in her eyes fading as she crumpled and Nico caught her head before she could hit the hardwood floors. Annabeth's fingers twined around my wrist and I flinched, remembering the stinging burn of the saltwater against my skin, the same ocean that had always healed me, "Percy-."

"I saw that," I whispered in response, a half-broken echo that I barely recognized. _"How did I see that?"_

Chiron frowned, fingers clenching white-knuckled around the armrests of his wheelchair, "What did you see, Percy?"

"The future," I said, suddenly sure of myself, "Something's coming, Chiron, something worse than a war between the gods."


	8. The Test of Courage

**Author's Note: **I'm back and you officially have Just Anny to thank for this one. I've decided to keep two stories going at the moment, this one and my NCIS LA fic _First Impressions: Blye, K. _so _Eagle of the Night _has now been resurrected from hiatus! I'll posting for both stories so the next chapter will be for _First Impressions. _Thanks, Riptide2

Chapter 8: The Test of Courage

"_The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart." – Robert Green Ingersoll_

That night Annabeth came to my cabin after the campfire and we packed in silence. She knew something was bothering me, whatever it was that I'd seen, the incomplete prophecy that promised the end of the world, the way I'd withdrawn after – after my death. I'm pretty sure she'd figured out that I'd been having flashbacks. It would have been hard to miss in the arena earlier. And I still hadn't told her about the constant presence in my thoughts or the voice I was hearing.

She left before the conch horn sounded to do her own packing and despite Cabin Three's open air design I abruptly felt trapped, isolated, even the voice in my mind was quiet. The silence was deafening, the air far too thick, and even Riptide felt heavy in my pocket. A monster howled in the forest and I jumped, cursing my racing heartbeat. Distantly I had to wonder if this was what a panic attack felt like before my gaze settled on the saltwater fountain gurgling under the window.

There was just enough light left to make a rainbow and I reached out with shaking fingers for a drachma. I threw the gold coin through the mist, whispering as it disappeared, "O, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering…" before I realized I didn't know who to call.

I almost said Poseidon, it would have been nice to talk to my dad, maybe to hear that he still believed in me, but I'd always shied away from that. We were closer than most demigods were with their Olympian parent, or at least I liked to think so, but the gods were busy and I wasn't sure how that would come off. Needy, like I was whining, maybe. A hero trying to suck up, I glanced down at my shaking hand and snorted, _Right, some hero._

"Show me Tyson at the palace of Poseidon," I said instead. I could use some of my brother's blind optimism right about now and besides we hadn't seen each other all summer.

The image flickered and abruptly I was staring at a room with bright alabaster walls and furniture made of coral. Seaweed and tropical fish floated by the window, glowing balls of light danced across the ceiling lending a soft blue hue, and a pair of hammerhead sharks chased each other in a game of tag in the open water beyond the door. In the midst of it all, Tyson sat hunched over a desk, tinkering with something held in his large hands.

I watched him work for a minute, unwilling to disturb whatever had captured his attention so completely before I realized he wasn't going to notice me. "Tyson," I called softly, "brother."

He froze infinitely complex, tiny pieces of metal falling back to the desktop and turned to face me. His mouth stretched into an impossibly wide grin, pure joy in his one milky brown eye as he exclaimed, "Percy!"

His happiness was contagious and I smiled back at him, genuinely for the first time in over a week, "Keeping busy brother?"

He nodded, "Daddy's army always needs something fixed. How are you, and Camp, and Annabeth?"

"Alive," I answered simply, suddenly afraid that our dad had told him something of what had happened to me. Tyson had grown up a lot since the war, but some part of me would always see him as my little brother, someone I needed to protect, and I couldn't stand the thought of him knowing about my death in the Underworld.

"Alive is good," he answered happily and I nodded, far too seriously to be joking.

"Yeah, Tyson, alive is _very_ good." Then I frowned, remembering why I'd called him in the first place, "I have a new quest, brother."

He nodded again, a little sadly this time, "You are saying goodbye."

"Yes," That and a million other things that I couldn't put into words, but I had no way of explaining that to him so I stuck with the obvious, "Queen Persephone is missing. Annabeth, Nico, and I are going to find her." Thalia wouldn't be coming, as a 'show of good faith' to Hades. She wasn't happy but we really didn't have a choice.

"Hades' wife," Tyson said, proving again that he was a lot smarter than most people gave him credit for, "trouble."

"Maybe," I answered truthfully, wondering not for the first time whether that Cyclopes' eye of his could see into the future, "with the prophecy not complete-"

"Anyway," I forced myself to stop, grasping at straws for a different subject. I was getting way too close to saying something I'd rather he didn't know. "Do you see Dad much?"

Tyson nodded, "Sometimes, but he is busy with rebuilding and I am training with the other Cyclopes now."

"That's great, Tyson." The memory of the last time I'd seen Poseidon rose unbidden in my mind. We'd been walking along the beach at Montauk in a hazy kind of limbo right after Annabeth had used her knowledge of my one link to the mortal world to stop me from killing Thalia and storming Olympus. I'd been dying because of a stupid mistake and Poseidon had apologized for bringing this fate on me, for me being his son.

My dad hadn't spoken to me face to face since I'd come back from the dead, aside from the sea stone necklace that had appeared on my night stand and the note '_When the time is right, use it wisely.' _That part still bothered me. I had no idea what the necklace did, other than that I could feel his power in it so it had to be some kind of magic.

The wail of the cleaning harpies in the distance startled me for a second before I realized just how dark it had become while we talked. I still had another call to make tonight too and hopefully a chance to get some sleep before we took on the world again. "I have to go, brother."

Tyson nodded, "Be careful of the Destroyer, brother. He guards the way against you."

"Tyson, what does that mean?" I demanded, "Who is he?"

He shook his head, looking around as if he expected to get caught doing something he shouldn't. "I can't tell you any more than that, too dangerous. Stay safe, brother."

"Tyson-" I protested, "At least tell me who he is." But he'd already reached forward and slashed through the mist, breaking the connection.

Without the light from the Iris message my cabin was eerily dark, too much so to make another rainbow but while I'd been talking with Tyson I realized I didn't want one. I'd always called my mom before I left on a quest, either an Iris message from Camp or on her answering machine, but that had been before. Now I couldn't imagine how that would seem. _Hey Mom, just wanted to let you know that I died. Want me to pick anything up on my way back from the Underworld?_

I'd never been afraid of dying; it was something that came with the territory of being a demigod, but a lot had changed since I'd seen my mom last. I'd _died. _I'd been on the other side. I knew what that was like now. And while it didn't exactly scare me any more than it had before, I definitely had a new appreciation for _not being dead._

And here I was, about to run into another life or death situation and I hadn't even told her about the last one.

I turned away from the fountain, patting down my pockets I made sure I had everything I'd need in case I ran into some kind of big bad on the other side of Camp's magical boundaries: Riptide, the necklace from my father, a square of ambrosia for emergencies only, some drachmas, and my apartment key. I stepped out of my cabin, heading for Half-Blood Hill, before I remembered that I wouldn't find them at our house on the outskirts of Manhattan. Paul and my Mom had left for a mini second honeymoon the same day I'd been called back to Camp Half-Blood. I retraced my steps, slinking through the dark, toward the sound of crashing waves.

I stepped from the surf unto the cool sand of Montauk beach, my jeans and camp shirt drying instantly. I could cross a lot greater distances by sea and at speeds that your average mortal could never hope to achieve and the swim across Long Island Sound hadn't taken me more than ten minutes tops. Still I could feel the difference between here and Camp. The ocean was wilder this close to the Atlantic and the sea breeze was cool against my skin, invigorating but with the threat of a storm over the horizon.

The lights were still on, shining through the windows of the small beachside cabin when I knocked. My mom came to the door after a moment of silence, her hair up in a messy bun, wearing her housecoat and slippers. "Percy," she exclaimed in a quiet voice, "what's wrong, honey?"

I shook my head, "We need to talk, Mom."

I sat at the kitchen table as she puttered around, plugging the kettle in to boil for hot coco and laying out chocolate chip cookies, "Sorry, they're not blue." She apologized, "I didn't know you were coming."

"It is fine, Mom." I sighed, "Just come sit down, ok?"

She did, studying me for a moment before she took my hand, "Percy, you're different now. What happened?"

I frowned, fingers clenching around the ball point pen that was so much more that I'd been playing with, "Kronos came back, Mom. That's where I went, to fight him again."

"I don't understand," My mom said in the overly calm voice she used when she was trying not to let me see just how worried she was. "I thought he was gone, Percy. You said that the war was over."

"We thought so too, but someone stole Hades' keys of death. They tried to bring Kronos back from Tartarus." _They succeeded too, _that traitorous voice in the back of my mind whispered. I ignored it, instead reaching out to catch my mom's hand in my own, "It's over now though, _really _over. This time he's gone for good."

I squashed the instant feeling of guilt that rose at my complete and utter lie as Mom smiled wanly at me. Kronos would never be able to rise completely again but he was far from gone. "Just promise me you're alright, Percy, and that's good enough for me."

"I don't know, Mom." I admitted, looking up to catch her eyes, "But I will be."

The whistle went off on the kettle, loud and shrill in the silence, and she jumped up to flip it off, pouring us two cups with the left over marshmallows from smores the night before, and then a third when Paul stumbled in, looking half asleep but happy to see me despite it being almost one in the morning.

Once we were all arranged around the too small table again, I brought up the other reason I was here while waiting for my marshmallows to melt, "I have another quest, Mom. We leave tomorrow."

"Percy," she frowned, "you're going out again, so soon?"

"I don't have a choice, Mom. Persephone's gone missing and Hades is threatening war." I took a sip of my coco and reached out to squeeze her hand, "We already have the prophecy. I can't let Annabeth and Nico go alone."

Paul glanced over at me in confusion, "Prophecy?"

"_You shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

_And raise by mistake Olympus' bane._

_Lightning's Child's shall take a fall,_

_And upon an enemy one must call._

_The King of Beasts shall rise with the seas,_

_And the crown of Olympus another shall seize." _I repeated what Rachel had revealed at the Campfire this evening.

Paul grimaced, "'_Olympus' bane, The King of Beasts' _It doesn't sound like this is going to be easy, Percy."

I half-smiled at the blissful ignorance of mortals. A quest wasn't really a quest without a prophecy promising doom, gloom, and the end of the world. "It never is, Paul."

"Do you have any idea what it means?"

I shook my head, "Not really. Annabeth has a few theories." I didn't want to add that most of those theories ended up being worst case scenarios.

Mom reached out to seize my hand, her eyes a little misty even as she put on a brave face, "Percy, promise me you'll be safe."

"I will, Mom," I knew how dangerous the life of a half-blood could be though. There were never any guarantees, "As much as I can be. I'm invulnerable, remember?"

"But not invincible," She frowned, "You can still be hurt, Percy."

"I know, trust me I know," I glanced over at Paul for support before focusing back on my mom. "I chose this a long time ago, Mom. It's who I am now."

"And I'm proud of you," She smiled at me as Paul wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "We both are, but I can't help but worry."

"Mom-" I protested.

"You should go, Percy," Paul stood as my mom gathered the mugs and ran water in the sink. "It sounds like you have a busy day tomorrow."

Paul wrapped a hand around my arm and pulled me aside, giving Mom some space that I suspected she was using to hide just how worried she was. My step-dad was frowning as we stood on the porch, waves crashing against the shore keeping our conversation private, "Percy have you thought any more about what I said?"

I looked out across the sand, a stretch of empty beach glowing in the moonlight as I tapped a staccato beat against the railing.

"You could get out after this," Paul said.

"Paul-" I said, "I don't know if I can walk away."

"You can't keep doing this forever, Percy. You're going to get yourself killed."

I turned away, pacing across the four feet of cracked, old wood.

"Just think about it, son." He suggested, catching my wrist and pulling me up short.

I joined him at the railing again and we stood in silence as my mom turned off the kitchen light inside. Finally I said, "Okay, one more. Then we'll talk."

"One more," He agreed, squeezing my shoulder before stepping back. "Be careful, Percy."

"Good night, Paul." I stepped away, moving back toward the sea. I had one last quest to see to.

I was ankle deep in the surf before he spoke again. "For what it's worth, I think you're doing the right thing." I nodded in the dark even though he couldn't see it, but as my head slipped under the waves, I wished I could be so sure.


End file.
